This was 5 1/2 years ago and there are 11 more grandchildren today!
This morning I read the following story by Jean E. Syswerda called "Building Something Worthy". I share this especially for and with my family. I know you will resinate and relate to this as I did.
I love you all.
BUILDING SOMETHING WORTHY
I love houses. I could build a new one or redecorate the old one every year if it weren't for the mess and disruption of actual living. Oh, and the money, of course. So instead of putting my money and my efforts into my house, I'm trying to put my money and efforts into my life, my family.
We're actually pretty needy bunch, this family of mine. We've shared more difficulty and tragedy than most families; therefore we've become more dependent on each other than most. We know from hard experience that with a breath it could all be gone. So the "house" I'm now building and decorating is one with a firm foundation for my family to live on, a foundation formed by faith in God and his Word.
This building takes many forms. Sometimes it's using the wakeful hours before dawn to pray for each grandchild individually. Sometimes it's teaching a new song to a couple of grandkids strapped into car seats. Sometimes it's emptying a grieving daughter's dishwasher or talking on the phone with an anxious daughter. Sometimes it's reassuring a son that lives thousands of miles away that, yes, we're all OK. At least for today.
Like the house in Jesus' parable that concluded the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 7:24-27), our house has known its share of storms. The rains have fallen, the winds have blown and beaten against our house. But we build it on a firm foundation. "He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken" (Psalm 62:2) Life's events might shake us, but our foundation assures us that we will never fall.
O Lord, my Rock, you are the only foundation for my life. I need your strength, your firm footing, in order to make it through all that life throws my way, good or bad, easy and difficult, happy and sad. Help me, Lord, to keep my eyes on what's important: not the color of my kitchen but the foundation of my soul. In Jesus' name, amen.
